ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Ecol. Evol.
Sec. Conservation and Restoration Ecology
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fevo.2025.1603614
This article is part of the Research TopicConservation and Restoration in the OceansView all articles
Assessment of Coastal Ecological Restoration Effectiveness Using an Improved Remote Sensing Ecological Index: A Case Study of the Liaohe Estuary
Provisionally accepted
- National Marine Data and Information Service, China Oceanic Information Network, Tianjin, China
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Coastal ecosystems face increasing degradation and biodiversity loss, prompting large-scale restoration efforts in China. However, traditional methods for evaluating restoration effectiveness are limited by high costs and narrow spatial coverage. This study introduces an Improved Remote Sensing Ecological Index (IRSEI), which incorporates a salinity-sensitive indicator into the conventional RSEI framework to better reflect the complex dynamics of coastal zones. Using the Liaohe Estuary as a case study, it analyzed ecological changes from 2014 to 2024 based on six Landsat 8 images. Results show that IRSEI enhances sensitivity to hydrosalinity gradients and restoration interventions. The mean IRSEI in the estuarine coastal zone rose by 23% and 48.3% of the area showing ecological improvement. Spatial patterns display a "core-to-edge" recovery pattern, with IRSEI increases exceeding 0.2 in restored zones. This study demonstrates the utility of IRSEI as a cost-effective, scalable tool for monitoring coastal wetland restoration and informing adaptive management in land-sea transitional ecosystems.
Keywords: Improved Remote Sensing Ecological Index (IRSEI), Enhanced Salinity Index (ESI), Liaohe Estuary, Coastal Zone Ecological Restoration, Ecological Restoration Effectiveness Evaluation
Received: 31 Mar 2025; Accepted: 21 May 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Zhang, Lu, Liu, Xu, Yang and Zeng. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Yujia Zhang, National Marine Data and Information Service, China Oceanic Information Network, Tianjin, China
Wenhai Lu, National Marine Data and Information Service, China Oceanic Information Network, Tianjin, China
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